When I am teaching Students, I emphasize demonstrating effective strategies for case taking. Learning how to do Homeopathy correctly and avoiding common mistakes, will lead to your great success. Here are a few common mistakes some Homeopaths make:

Forgetting to set your intention before beginning a case – This happens before the case even begins and in my opinion is one of the most detrimental mistakes there is. Everything that happens during the case must be witnessed and understood without prejudice. If your intention is not set to be a clear, unprejudiced observer, out of your own way and open to be an empathetic listener, you will likely be unsuccessful in hearing what is asking to be healed. Instead, you may be involved in your own story in your mind and miss vital details. The first thing to do as a Homeopath is setting your intention. Be clear and ready for the case to unfold before you.

Being inaccurate with rubric selections – The repertory is a very exact work. The words used in the repertory have specific meaning. If you do not know the meaning of a rubric or select a rubric that is close to the idea you have, but is not precisely accurate you are doomed to fail. Utilize the dictionary when you do not fully understand a word. Utilize the cross-references and word index of the repertory. This way you can look for other rubrics that might better describe the symptom the Client is sharing. Choosing the right rubric will lead to a right remedy.

Choosing too many rubrics that are not key to the core idea of the case – If you choose too many rubrics that are not expressive of what is asking to be healed, you will dilute the case and end up with a miss-mash of remedies to consider. Remember the three legged stool. The case can usually be described with three undeniable and clear rubrics that best describe the energy of the case. Choosing 10 different rubrics that cover all the Client has spoken of will make for a very confusing case. Keep it simple. Choose good rubrics with a medium number of remedies (20-60). They will usually cross to only 3-10 remedies and make your job much easier.

Using conjecture to understand the case and not the simple words the Client used – It is common to read into a Client’s testimony your own ideas about them. This is “transcendental speculation” and Hahnemann warned us about this in the Organon. Here is an example: Just because a person has experienced loss in their life does not always mean they are in grief. There could be grief and they may be handling their grief perfectly. Then would grief be a proper part of the case? Sometimes not, especially if there is something else that is more pronounced that is asking to be healed and loss is not the core energy of their dis-ease. You must know what is asking to be healed before you can find the correct remedy.

Choosing the wrong remedy because of laziness or feeling pressured for time – This may prevent you from investigating all of the remedies that you think might be possible for the case and you may miss the most perfect remedy. Learn Materia Medica. When there is a remedy that appears and you know nothing about it, read about it first before prescribing a remedy you know. Sometimes the remedy that is smaller and less well known is a perfect fit. Don’t be lazy. Do the research. You will learn more about the remedies in the Materia Medica in the process.

Failing to know what is asking to heal – This is probably the biggest mistake of all. It is imperative that you understand, in it’s essence, what is asking to be healed. This can happen when you are not paying close enough attention to everything that presents in the case, or it can come from lack of experience. This is one of the biggest hurdles to being a successful Homeopath. Understanding what is asking to be healed will lead you to finding the correct remedy.

Choosing the wrong potency – Often the Homeopath will have a set idea about potencies. Every case is different and every case needs the correct potency and repetition of the dose for the Client to remain inspired in their healing. The strength of the Vital Force needs to be assessed and the obstacles to cure need to be known before the correct potency could be given. Experience is helpful in knowing what potency is best. Giving too high a potency to start the healing of a chronic case can be very dangerous, creating unnecessary aggravations. Be careful. It is always best to go low and slow.

There are probably another thousand mistakes that can be made but these are the biggest and most common I’ve seen. To be a successful Homeopath, pay attention to yourself and watch that you refrain from making these mistakes repeatedly. Repeated mistakes lead to bad habits that are not easy to break. Be mindful to act with integrity and confidence so you do effective remedy prescribing. Always strive to do better and come from your good intention.

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3 comments so far

Thank you for your newsletter! I find it very helpful. I would love to learn more about how you determine what needs to be healed in the case . .From what I have read in your work it is more than the ailments but more like the root pattern of what brings about the symptoms. . Have you done any Homeopathy tips with case examples of this? I recall one about the opening words of the case were about “I am addicted. .” and it turned out to be a drug remedy. . I would find it super helpful to see how you have applied this step to your work. . and also to see how your study materia medica to build the essence of the remedy to see what is the thing that needs to be healed that the remedy addresses. . THANK YOU!

As a brand new student, these are excellent tips–especially knowing what is asking to be healed! This is the foundation for prescribing the correct remedy. Homeopathy isn’t learned overnight, but takes constant learning and practice!